One Year In, Colossal Is Already Planning the Next Generation of Dire Wolves
Chief Animal Officer Matt James on what it takes to raise a species back from extinction
A year after the birth of Remus and Romulus, Den of Geek sat down with Colossal Biosciences Chief Animal Officer Matt James for an inside look at what comes next for the world’s first functionally de-extincted dire wolves. James describes a stepwise, multi-generational approach to developing the pack, from building social structure and cross-fostering with experienced wolves to gradually reducing human intervention over time. “It’ll take generations of dire wolves to get to the point where they’re truly independent and skilled hunters,” James told Den of Geek. The husbandry protocols James and his team are developing are, by definition, a world’s first — written for a species that hasn’t existed in over 10,000 years. That work is also informing Colossal’s broader conservation platform, as the behavioral and genomic tools refined with the dire wolf pack continue to shape the company’s approach to future species.